Saurabh Shankar

HarperCollins India unveils a new literary voice from Nagaland. In Giants, Huthuka Sumi crafts a world where silence speaks, stories breathe, and the ordinary glows with quiet wonder. Published by HarperCollins India, this remarkable debut blends folklore, magic realism, and lyrical prose into a tale that is both intimate and epic.

At the centre of the novel is Kato, a boy cherished by his mother, accompanied by a loyal friend, and surrounded by a world steeped in stories—but burdened by the silence of his own voice. When Kene the giant, an ancient mythical being, comes seeking a storyteller, Kato is an unlikely choice. As the seasons turn, Kato must discover what it truly means to speak—not just with words, but with heart, memory, and truth.

Reflecting on the novel’s genesis, Huthuka Sumi shares: “Giants came to be when the folktales from my childhood gained consciousness through the voices of Tolkien, Toni Morrison, Khaled Hosseini, Orhan Pamuk, Ayako Miura, the Bible and many others. The stories I grew up with demanded to be told—not as I heard them, but as I lived them.”

Giants is already being hailed as a rare debut that touches the soul while awakening the senses.

Aparna Kapur, Editor at HarperCollins, says: “Huthuka’s writing is luminous in its originality. He wanders gently through his characters’ emotional terrain—tracing their doubts, bonds, and quiet heartbreaks—with great tenderness. But for me, the true enchantment of Giants lies in its loving attention to the everyday: lazy afternoons, squabbles over nothing, river songs, farm kitchens, and food that feels like home.”

Tina Narang, Executive Publisher at HarperCollins, adds: “We’re proud to introduce Huthuka Sumi’s exceptional voice to the world. Giants is not just a powerful novel—it is the arrival of a major new talent. The title couldn’t be more fitting for a debut of this magnitude.”

Both grounded and otherworldly, Giants invites readers to rediscover the power of stories—to remember that even in silence, there is voice, and in the familiar, there is magic.

About the Author:
Huthuka Sumi’s work explores the spaces where symbols speak louder than words and where memory and myth entwine. When he’s not writing, he indulges in a quiet nostalgia for the 90s and enjoys working with wood—shaping the tangible with the same care he brings to shaping sentences.